Archive for the 'Rickard Rakell' Tag Under 'Ducks' Category

ANAHEIM -- The Ducks recalled center Rickard Rakell from the Norfolk Admirals of the American Hockey League and had him take part in Thursday's practice.

Rakell, 20, has scored 14 goals and is tied for the Admirals' lead with 37 points in 43 games. The Ducks' top pick in the 2011 NHL draft also played in seven games with the club early in the season, notching his first career point on Nov. 8 against Buffalo.

Rakell could play Friday against Pittsburgh as Mathieu Perreault is on injured reserve due to an upper-body injury. Perreault is wearing a soft cast on his right forearm.

Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said that defenseman Sami Vatanen could be sidelined for two weeks after being evaluated by the club's medical staff on Wednesday. Vatanen suffered a lower-body injury Saturday while playing for Norfolk against Manchester.

"He’s just got a little tweak," Boudreau said. "He'll be healthy in two weeks. We don't know whether at that point he's going to be here or go back to Norfolk."

NEW YORK -- Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said injured center Saku Koivu could return to the team shortly as the veteran does not have any lingering symptoms from being hit by Columbus forward Brandon Dubinsky last week.

Koivu could be back as soon as Wednesday's home game against Phoenix as he has been skating and working out in Anaheim. He missed the last four games of the road trip after being knocked out briefly by Dubinsky, who was not disciplined by the league for the hit.

Boudreau inserted Rickard Rakell into the lineup Monday against the New York Rangers after recalling the forward from the club's American Hockey League team in Norfolk (Va.) on Sunday and sending back center Peter Holland.

"We know what Peter can do," Boudreau said. "Rakell was up here and he played in Bridgeport [on Saturday]. He's been arguably their best forward down there.

"We knew, with Saku sitting at home probbaly ready to go by Wednesday, that we wanted to give Rakell an opportunity. He was a healthy scratch on two or three games of this team and we thought this was a good place."

NEW YORK -- The Ducks swapped out centers on Sunday, recalling Rickard Rakell from Norfolk of the American Hockey League and returning Peter Holland to the Admirals.

Rakell will make his season debut Monday night when the Ducks face the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden in the final game of their season-long road trip.

Rakell, 20, has four goals and two assists in 11 games with Norfolk. He played in four games with the Ducks last season.

Holland scored a goal last week against Columbus for his lone point in four games with the Ducks. He appeared in Saturday's game against Buffalo, logging 9:14 of ice time and winning four of 11 faceoffs.

The Ducks also called back defenseman Luca Sbisa from his conditioning loan to Norfolk. Sbisa is coming back from a badly sprained ankle and had two assists in two games with the Admirals this weekend.

BOSTON -- The Ducks assigned Luca Sbisa to the Norfolk Admirals of the American Hockey League in the first step to getting the injured defenseman back to readiness for NHL action.

Sbisa hasn't played a game this season after suffering a sprained left ankle in the first preseason contest against Phoenix. He acknowledged that it wasn't until earlier this week that he's been able to practice without thinking about the healing ankle.

The move allows the Ducks to get him up to speed and not force him into a blue line that's performed well without him as youngsters Hampus Lindholm and Sami Vatanen have more than held their own in the season's first month.

Sbisa is expected to play in at least two Norfolk's three road games this weekend at Albany, Bridgeport and Hershey.

The Ducks also returned forward Rickard Rakell to Norfolk after bringing him up for insurance against any further injuries among their forwards.

The Ducks will open their annual prospect conditioning camp Wednesday at Anaheim Ice and will conduct three weekend scrimmages there before it ends Monday.

Scrimmages will be open and free of charge to the public, taking place Friday and Saturday at 9:15 a.m. and Sunday at 10:30 a.m.

Recent first-round pick Shea Theodore will be in camp along with three other draft selections Sunday -- Nick Sorensen, Keaton Thompson and Grant Besse. Top prospects expected to participate include Hampus Lindholm, Peter Holland, Rickard Rakell and John Gibson.

Off-ice workouts will not be open to the public. Below is the Ducks' development camp roster:

CHICAGO -- The Ducks will return forward Rickard Rakell to his junior team, the Plymouth Whalers of the Ontario Hockey League, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

Rakell, 19, made the team out of its brief training camp and appeared in his first four NHL games, going scoreless with a minus-2 rating. The Ducks are very high on their 2011 first-round pick but did not put him in their lineup over the last seven games.

Coach Bruce Boudreau said they wanted to keep Rakell around for a bit “to see what the NHL is like to make him hungry to want to be here.”

“I think he learned a lot,” Boudreau continued. “I think he’s better prepared now. When he comes into camp next year, he’s coming here to win a job. Not to just turn pro.”

In doing this now, the Ducks won't burn the first year of the three-year entry level contract that Rakell signed in July. Rakell began his third year with the Whalers while the NHL was locked out and had 13 goals and 17 assists in 32 games.

CALGARY, Alberta -- The Ducks are carrying several youngsters on their roster at the start and it appears that they'll be given a shot to make an impact on a team that can use its share of cost-effective solutions.

For the moment, Peter Holland will have to wait for his.

Rickard Rakell will be back in the lineup as the fourth-line center for Monday night's game against Calgary and Holland will be back in the press box alongside veteran Brad Staubitz as the forwards that will sit.

Why isn't Holland playing yet after leading the AHL's Norfolk Admirals in scoring? You can look at two things.

Rakell held his own in his NHL debut against Vancouver on Saturday night and Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau isn't keen on making changes after a 7-3 rout of the Canucks. But Boudreau said he can see switching out Rakell for Holland and vice versa over some upcoming games.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- He is wearing No. 67 and one suspects it isn't by choice.

Judging by the smile he allowed himself to have, Rickard Rakell would wear a sweater with four numbers on it if needed. The 19-year-old Swede got a ticket to Vancouver instead of traveling back to Plymouth, Mich.

On Saturday night, Rakell will be wearing the Ducks sweater and lining up against the Canucks instead of battling against the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. He has made quite a leap from the Ontario Hockey League -- for now -- after further impressing the club's brass during a quick training camp.

"It's awesome," Rakell said. "In a week, I've learned so much. You see all the great players that are here. Just being around is going to help me. It's so much fun in all kinds of ways."

Rakell is having quite the hockey season. It opened with his third year in the Ontario Hockey League with the Plymouth Whalers, where he put up 13 goals and 17 assists in 32 games.

Just five days ago, John Gibson and Rickard Rakell were playing against each other for the gold medal at the IIHF World Junior Championship.

On Sunday, Gibson and Rakell will be back in Anaheim sharing space in the same dressing room.

The Ducks will bring their top two selections in the 2011 draft to their training camp that is expected to open Sunday. The two players stood out at the recent world junior tournament, where the United States defeated Sweden 3-1 for its second title in four years.

Ducks general manager Bob Murray would not confirm the invitations but TSN's Bob McKenzie reported Thursday that the club is set to bring both stars that play regularly in the Ontario Hockey League. The Kitchener Record reported that Gibson will be flying to Orange County on Saturday.

Gibson starred for the U.S. in its march to gold as he was named the most valuable player and top goalie of the top junior hockey tournament in the world. A native of Pittsburgh, the 19-year-old had a .955 save percentage -- the best mark by an American-born goalie in its history -- in addition to a 1.36 goals-against average.